I recently got a pitch from a public relations professional who works for Weight Watchers. I get this sort of pitch all the time and they are often informative, usually about the product the PR person is being paid to represent. I rarely run them here. But I’m making an exception this time because Charlie pulled together a list of iPhone apps I thought you might want to try out. I haven’t tried any of these because I don’t have an iPhone. So if you take issue with any be sure and direct your ire at Charlie (in the comments. I’ll pass on your message. J
In a couple of cases, I first want to offer suggestions for those of you who, like me, don’t have an iPhone.
RemembertheMilk.com, which Charlie mentions for its iPhone app, is a nice online tool even if you don’t have an iPhone.
And for those of you trying to shed a couple of pounds, using a food diary is a great way to jump start things. I swear by MyFoodDiary.com for this. It has a terrific database of foods and tracks a lot more than calories so you can reign in all your food habits (sodium, trans fats, carbs, or whatever you are tracking.) It will also calculate how much more you can eat when you work out, which is a great motivator. It’s $9.95 a month with a short free trial.
And I love Mint.com for keeping track of finances. It’s a free online tool but offers some great mobile alerts and tools.
And here is Charlie’s list of “Resolution Keeper” apps for the iPhone.
Run Keeper
Stay motivated to keep moving! This free app uses the iPhone’s GPS system to track how far and how long you’ve walked, biked, hiked or ran. Information including pace and duration are stored so users can track progress over time. Notable features include Activity Training, Personal Dashboard, Maps Integration, Activity Sharing, Music and a Manual Input feature for treadmill runs.
Pennies
Stick to your monthly budget with this cute app that illustrates your available funds as a gas gauge that decreases as you spend. Users can record their own expenses in seconds or browse from a pre-filled database of expenses. Users can also add their own expense categories for easier tracking of commonly-purchased items. This application costs $2.99.
Weight Watchers
This free app lets users stay on track with diet and fitness by leveraging official Weight Watchers insights and tools. Everyone, whether or not they’re a Weight Watchers member, can view recipes, articles and success stories, create shopping lists and use Weight Watchers’ cheat sheets and meeting finder. Additionally, Weight Watchers Online and eTools subscribers can unlock additional tools that help them track their plan progress on the go.
Remember the Milk
App users who want to get organized — and stay that way — in 2010 will love this App. Free with a Remember The Milk account, this app lets users sort to-dos, quickly access completed tasks, store notes and auto-link e-mail addresses and phone numbers for one-touch emailing and calling. The app also uses geolocation to sort nearby to-dos, and allows users to store common to-dos in an easily accessible list.
Quit’n’Tell
There are lots of apps to help smokers kick the habit, but this one harnesses the power of social media so those who stick to it can seek support from their friends and family. This free app lets users track how long they’ve been a non-smoker, how much money they’ve saved and how many cigarettes they would have smoked if they haven’t quit. Plus, users can share all of the above on Twitter and Facebook, and also track their friends’ progress.
Update on 11/29/2017:
I happened upon this round up of running apps at the The Babble Out. I am not a runner. So you don’t want to listen to me on this topic. But that’s a nice list.